Road Cycling - help! new roadie buying first bike...

hey guys...i'm new to the forum, and i was hoping you guys could give me some advice about a problem i'm facing. firstly, i' m 16 and i live in hong kong. i've been mountain biking for a year or so now, and i've started to get into long distances. after doing a century at a crawl on my mountain bike, i've decided to get a decent road bike.

the problem is in hk there isn't a whole lot of choice with bikes. there are are a couple of really good dealers though; i've done my research, talked to people who know their stuff, and i've narrowed my choice (which wasn't exactly broad to begin with) down to two bikes: a giant OCR 3 (which everyone here seems to hate) and a cannondale built by a really famous dealer here (voted the best in asia or something).

the giant costs about US$720. the cannondale costs $1200, and it has a combination of ultegra and 105 components...i've been told that the bike is actually cheaper than some one the cannondales with cheaper compontents.

i know the bikes are in totally different leagues but i figured that if i could convince my parents to buy me a more expensive bike i would go all the way and get a good one that will last, and if i can't, the giant is the only decent bike in that price range.

is it worth me buying the cannondale? i'm very dedicated to my biking and i'm planning to start competeting in races and triathlons soon, and i want a bike that will last me a while. on the other hand, this is my first road bike.

better end it there the the post is getting too long...


thanks a lot guys
ani

by the way, i am VERY limited in my choice of bikes....the cannondale is just about the best deal in its price range, and i totally trust the dealer, and there are no other bikes in the giant OCR price range either. thanks again.

Can't say anything about your bike selection dilemma...but cool stuff that you live in Hong Kong :)

I lived there till I was four and then moved to Canada. There's road biking there? Definitely lotsa great climbs :P

Originally posted by a-n-i
by the way, i am VERY limited in my choice of bikes....the cannondale is just about the best deal in its price range, and i totally trust the dealer, and there are no other bikes in the giant OCR price range either. thanks again.


Can you mail order?

There are a couple bikes in the 700+ price range in the US for example.

Cannondale R400, R500 ($950+)
Trek 1000, 1200, 2000
Giant OCR3, 2 ($800+), 1($900+)

If you are not intending to race on your bike, Id not worry about getting an extremely pricy model. A good road bike can be had for around 750-1100 dollars. The OCR3 is a fine bike but there are a number of things you will need to upgrade at some point, it is Giants entry level model. Id spring for an OCR2 or 1 if you have the cash. They come stock with cinelli bars, selle it. seats, mavic cxp21s, and better drivetrains. Check out the Cycling Plus message board, they are quite fond of the OCR line over there, and can offer a lot of advice. I have an OCR2 and love the thing, I upgraded it to 105 for about 150 bucks and it weighs in at 19 pounds.

My Fuji Roubaix-Pro weighs 19+ lbs and has 105 components. And it's made in Taiwan, relatively close to Hong Kong. Don't know what their import arrangements are. I think it would be a good bike for your purposes.

If you have access to Bicycling Magazine, they recently had a Buying Guide issue which gives you a good survey of what's out there and where your Giant and Cannondale fall. I learned a lot just by thumbing through it.

i would obviously get the cannondale over the ocr 3. but these two bikes are in different price ranges. if you want to stay around the price of the ocr 3 look at the raleigh 400, diamondback interval or the trek 1000 which is what i plan on getting. i actually found two dealers around me that have the trek 2003 models in starry black available.

consider ebay, really. there are new roadies ditching their bikes, their are veterans ditching their older reliables, there are triathletes "upgrading" to 10-speed or for the latest wheels, etc....

but know what you are paying for. (www.roadbikereview.com)